Celebrity Edmonds ramps up Lloyds claim

Tvcelebritynoeledmonds has hoisted his compensation claim against Lloyds Banking Group to £300 million after falling victim to fraud at the hands of former HBOS Reading staff.

The former Deal Or No Deal host had originally sought between £50m and £70m, but a new statement issued by him confirms the claim has been ramped up substantially.

Edmonds said: “The trial judge and the police have always maintained that the criminal activities went far beyond the ‘Reading 6’ and we have documentary evidence to support their views.

“Lloyds have also been accused of actively blocking police enquiries, which is why my lawyers are sending the Thames Valley Police our documentation which I believe suggests the Hbos/lloyds criminal activities were actually conducted on an ‘industrial’ scale.”

A Lloyds spokesman said yesterday: “We are determined to compensate customers appropriately, swiftly and as fairly as possible.”